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Crime-proofing your Community's landscaping doesn't have to mean expensive overhauls to existing foliage or the uprooting of trees and hedges; rather, crime-proofing simply means that you take steps to eliminate those hiding places that criminal elements may use to their benefit when attempting to commit a crime within your community.

Why crime-proof at all? (1) Fewer crimes. By trimming trees and shrubs and flattening berms (mounds of earth) you can minimize areas that criminals could hide behind and also increase visibility from the street. (2) Reduced liability for the Association. The victim of a crime in your community may sue the Association for negligence if he or she believes that you didn't take reasonable precautions to mitigate the crime. "Safe" landscaping discourages criminal activity and can go a long way towards convincing a judge that the Association was reasonable in its efforts to prevent the crime. (3) Better Perception of Community Safety. A safe community is a coveted one. That is, residents want to feel that they live in an area that is free from criminal intrusions as do potential buyers seeking the same level of comfort.

Crime-proofing tips:
(1) Thorny-shrub barriers. They have barbs. They are sharp. And they hurt. Plant this type of shrubbery at barriers/perimeters of your common area parking lots and between your community and adjacent properties. A criminal is less likely to use this shrub as cover or to attempt to navigate through this shrub to get to an intended victim.

(2) Trim shrub height and width. Unkept shrubs in common areas (with the exception of the thorny shrubs above) provide an impediment to residents' line-of-sight and inhibit their ability to spot potential attackers. Eliminate any outcropping of shrubs/trees that would impair residents' vision such that a criminal could use this impairment to his advantage against an unsuspecting resident.

If purchasing new or replacement shrubs, try and select those that won't grow very tall or dense. As a practical matter, the shrubs should be "thinned" such that an observer can see through the foliage to what lies behind the plant.

(3) Don't forget the trees. Tree canopies with low-hanging branches can provide just as much obstruction for an enterprising criminal to get the jump on his intended victim. Trim any branches that impair line-of-sight or that could be used as camouflage for would-be assailants. Also, trim back taller branches that obscure common area lighting as this impairs residents' ability to see at night.

Most if not all of these suggestions can be implemented with little to no additional expense outside of the Community's normal landscaping budget. But with careful planning and analysis of potential hazards relating to unsafe landscaping, this potential Pandora's box of liability can be "nipped in the bud."

*Special thanks to the Insider's Guide to Managing Community Associations for excerpts used in this article.

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